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Prison Discipline Policies

Below are links to discipline policies for state prisons, the Washington, D.C. Department of Corrections, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as well as the categories each uses to classify less- versus more-serious violations. Some discipline policies list offense severity classifications in separate documents from the main policy, and in such cases we linked those documents under "Classification Documents."

To learn more about prison discipline policies, check out our report, Bad Behavior: How prison disciplinary policies manufacture misconduct.

Last updated: Sep. 22, 2025

State Discipline Policy Offense Classification
(High to Low)		 Classification Documents
Alabama AR 403 Procedures for Inmate Rule Violations Severe, High, Medium, Low
Alaska 809.02 Prohibited Conduct and Penalties Major, High-Moderate, Low-Moderate, Minor
Arizona 803 Inmate Disciplinary Procedure Class A, B, C
Arkansas Inmate Handbook (2022) Class A, Class B, Class C, Minor
California Article 5 - Inmate Discipline Serious, Administrative Serious Rule Violations

Administrative Rule Violations
Colorado 150-01 Code of Penal Discipline Class I and II
Connecticut A.D. 9.5 Code of Penal Discipline Class A, B, C Code of Penal Discipline Offenses
Delaware 4.2 Rules of Conduct Class I and II
Florida 33-601.314 Rules of Prohibited Conduct and Penalties for Infractions Technically, Florida doesn't categorize offense severity, but they do have three tiers of punishment for the number of days a person can spend in isolation for a rule violation. The highest is 60 days, followed by 30 days and 10 days.
Georgia Subject 125-3-2 Discipline Great, High, Moderate, Low Prohibited Acts Offender Disciplinary Charge Codes

Authorized Disciplinary Sanctions List
Hawaii COR 13.03 Adjustment Procedures Governing Serious Misconduct Violations and the Adjustment of Minor Misconduct Violations Greatest, High, Moderate, Low Moderate, Minor
Idaho 318.02.01.001 Disciplinary Procedures for Inmates Class A, B, C Disciplinary Offenses
Illinois Part 504 Discipline and Grievances Technically, Illinois doesn't categorize offense severity, but they do have five tiers of punishment for the number of days a person can spend in solitary confinement for a rule violation. The highest is “indeterminate,” which theoretically could be forever, followed by 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, and 0 days. Maximum Penalties
Indiana 02-04-101 The Disciplinary Code for Incarcerated Adults Class A, B, C, D
Iowa IO-RD-3 Major Discipline Report Procedures Class A, B, C, D, Minor Informal Corrective Action and Minor Disciplinary Reports

Major Discipline Report Procedures
Kansas Article 13 - Disciplinary Procedures Class I, II, III Conduct and Penalties
Kentucky Inmate Rules and Discipline Category VII, VI, V,IV,III, II, I Offenses and Penalties
Louisiana Subchapter B. Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Adult Offenders Schedule B and A
Maine 20.1 Prisoner Discipline Class A, B, C
Maryland Chapter 12.03.01. Inmate Disciplinary Process Category IA, IB, II, III, IV, V Inmate Rule Violation Summary
Massachusetts 103 CMR 430.00 Inmate Discipline Category One, Two, Three, Four
Michigan 03.03.105 Prisoner Discipline Class I, II, III
Minnesota 303.010 Offender Discipline Level 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Mississippi 18-01-01 Disciplinary Procesures Category C (Major), Category B (Serious), Category A (Minor)
Missouri Offender Rulebook (2019) Level 1, 2, 3
Montana 3.4.1 Institutional Discipline Major and Minor
Nebraska 217.01 Inmate Rules & Discipline Class I, II, III Code of Offenses
Nevada AR 707 Offender Disciplinary Process Class A, B, C, D, E Offender Disciplinary Manual
New Hampshire Manual for the Guidance of Inmates (2011) Class A, B, C
New Jersey Chapter 4 - Inmate Discipline Category A, B, C, D, E, F Prohibited acts
New Mexico CD-090100 Inmate Discipline Category A and B
New York Section 270.2 - Standards of incarcerated individual behavior Tier III, II, I
North Carolina B .0200 - Offender Disciplinary Procedures Class A, B, C
North Dakota Facility Handbook (2021) Level 3, 2, 1
Ohio Rule 5120-9-06 Inmate rules of conduct N/A (Ohio abolished their classification system in 2004)
Oklahoma OP-060125 Offender Disciplinary Procedures Class X, A, B
Oregon 291.105 Prohibited Conduct and Processing Disciplinary Actions I, II, III a, III b, IV, V, VI Prohibited Conduct and Processing Disciplinary Actions
Pennsylvania DC-ADM 801 Inmate Discipline Class I (Formal Resolution Only), Class I (Eligible for Informal Resolution), Class 2
Rhode Island 11.01-8 DOC Code of Inmate Discipline Class 1(a), 1(b), 2, 3, 4
South Carolina OP-22.14 Inmate Disciplinary System Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
South Dakota 1.3.C.02 Offender Discipline System H, M, L, V
Tennessee Inmate Rights, Rules, Grievances and Disciplinary Actions Class A, B, C Disciplinary Procedures
Texas GR-106 Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Offenders Level 1, 2, 3
Utah FD01 Inmate Discipline Code A, Code B
Vermont 410.01 Security and Supervision Major A, Major B, Minor
Virginia OP 861.1 Inmate Discipline Category I and II
Washington 460.000 Disciplinary Process for Prisons Category A, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, D Disciplinary Violations
West Virginia 325.00 Discipline of Inmates Class I, II, III
Wisconsin 303.00.04 Disciplinary Guidelines Major penalties, Minor penalties
Wyoming 3.101 Code of Inmate Discipline Major, General, Minor
District of Columbia PM 5300.1 Inmate Disciplinary Code of Offenses Classes I, II, III
Bureau of Prisons (Federal) 5270.09 Inmate Discipline Program Greatest, High, Moderate, Low


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